“For Everything There Was a Season” is a nature film that reveals the impact the changing climate has on plants and animals in our region.
Bridger-Teton National Forest botanist Trevor Bloom joined KHOL to discuss the film and touched on one of the biggest issues facing both local and global ecosystems, the delayed arrival and earlier departure of snow as compared to years past.
“Here in the Tetons we’re seeing things like snow coming later, like we saw this year, and snow melting earlier, resulting in shifts in our vegetation, creating longer fire seasons, creating a tizzy for wildlife that depend on the snow and also less water. We’re seeing less late-season water due to that early snowmelt timing, so climate change is a huge issue,” Bloom said.
“Things are flowering earlier”
Blooms said his film is inspired by the book “For Everything There Is A Season” by Frank Craighead. Craighead and his twin brother John made observations starting in the 1970s on the seasonal timing of ecological events. The book is a week-by-week field guide of what you’d expect to see happening in the Tetons in terms of plant and animal activity.
When Bloom’s colleague noticed the book was becoming obsolete due to the shift in timing as a result of climate change, a team of like-minded environmentalists decided to make a film about it.
“We started a research project along with Charlie Craighead, Frank’s son, to look at what’s happening with the seasonal timing of events. We found that the onset of spring has advanced by three weeks. Here in the Tetons, things are flowering earlier, and everything with that book is out of whack,” Bloom said.
The film aims to inspire viewers to take action to help slow the damaging effects of climate change. Bloom said a lot of questions about what we can do as a community can be answered by allowing nature to thrive.
“Continue to protect large tracts of connected land that let wildlife move across barriers, to migrate, to move up in elevation, to move north if they have to. We also talk about how to lower your carbon footprint and how to vote with both your ballot and your wallet when it comes to promoting sustainable companies and sustainable policies,” Bloom said.
Teton Botanical Garden presents the premiere of the nature film “For Everything There Was A Season” at Teton County Library followed by a discussion with Jackson-based ecologist and botanist Trevor Bloom. The event is 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17 and free and open to the public.
Listen above for KHOL’s full conversation with Bridger-Teton National Forest Botanist Trevor Bloom.
